Draft. These rules are a working draft and are under legal review. Text in [square brackets] is still to be confirmed.
1. Sponsor
The Cobenian FREE Build (the "Program") is run by Cobenian Corporation, Centreville, Virginia ("Cobenian"). Contact: info@cobenian.com.
2. What is awarded
One applicant (the "Recipient") receives one custom software project built by Cobenian at no charge: up to 80 hours of senior engineering in a two-week build window. The stated value is $20,000, which is 80 hours at $250 an hour. There is no cash alternative, and the award cannot be transferred or exchanged.
3. No payment to apply
Applying is free. No purchase or payment of any kind is needed to apply or to be selected, and buying anything from Cobenian does not improve an applicant's chances.
4. Who can apply
- A business legally formed and operating in the United States for at least two years.
- The Program is designed for businesses with roughly 10 to 200 employees. Businesses of other sizes may apply.
- The application must be submitted by an owner, officer or employee who is at least 18 and authorized to act for the business.
- Not eligible: Cobenian's employees, contractors and their immediate families, and businesses they own.
- Not eligible in this round: projects that would handle health records or payment card data, and safety-critical systems. Regulated work needs compliance time that does not fit a two-week build.
- Cobenian may decline any application at its sole discretion, for example where accepting free work could conflict with the applicant's procurement, ethics or gift rules, as is common for government bodies.
- The Program is void where prohibited by law.
5. How to apply
Complete the application form at cobenian.com/free-build.html between October 19, 2026 and 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 6, 2026. One application per business. A nomination by someone else is an invitation to apply; the nominated business must complete its own application.
6. How the Recipient is chosen
The Recipient is chosen on merit. Chance plays no part. Cobenian scores every eligible application against these criteria:
| Criterion | What scores well | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Business impact | A specific problem with a cost stated in hours or dollars | 30% |
| Fit to two weeks | One clear deliverable, with the data and systems accessible | 30% |
| Readiness | A decision-maker available during the build and willing to appear on camera | 20% |
| Story | A problem many similar businesses share, with a result that can be measured | 20% |
The five highest-scoring applicants are invited to a one-hour working session between November 9 and 13, 2026, which is recorded with their consent. Cobenian then selects the Recipient from the finalists using the same criteria and announces the selection on or about November 16, 2026. Cobenian's decisions are final. Cobenian may select no Recipient if no application is suitable.
7. Conditions of receiving the build
To receive the build, the selected business must:
- sign the Cobenian FREE Build Agreement within [5] business days of being notified;
- agree on a written scope of work with Cobenian by November 25, 2026;
- make a decision-maker available during the build window, November 30 to December 11, 2026;
- take part in recorded interviews and provide the before-and-after measurements described in the agreement.
If the selected business does not meet these conditions, Cobenian may select another finalist.
8. What the Recipient pays for
The Recipient pays its own hosting (in its own cloud account, or to Cobenian for a monthly fee if it chooses Cobenian hosting), domain, third-party service and license costs, and any taxes that arise from receiving the build. Cobenian may report the value of the build as required by law.
9. Ownership
The Recipient owns the software Cobenian builds for its business: its data, its configuration and the code written only for the Recipient. Cobenian keeps its pre-existing tools and the general-purpose parts it builds along the way, and grants the Recipient a permanent, royalty-free license to use, run and modify them as part of the Recipient's software. The Cobenian FREE Build Agreement sets out the full terms.
10. Software delivered as-is
The software is delivered as-is, with no warranty and no included support after handover. An optional maintenance and security plan is available at $500 a month. There is no obligation to purchase it. Full terms are in the agreement.
11. Publicity and privacy of the software
The Recipient's software and data are not published. The Recipient agrees that Cobenian may name it as the Recipient and publish a white paper, videos, other promotional materials and build updates about the project, showing the software with sample data only. Finalists are named publicly only with their permission.
Cobenian uses AI development tools, including Anthropic's Claude, to write specifications, code and tests, so some of the Recipient's project information will pass through them. By taking part, the Recipient accepts that this information is processed under those providers' terms, including Anthropic's privacy policy. Cobenian works from sample or anonymized data wherever real data isn't needed, and tells the Recipient before real data is used.
12. Information in applications
Cobenian uses application information to run the Program and to contact applicants about it. Cobenian will not publish the contents of an application without the applicant's permission. Cobenian keeps applications after the round closes so it can consider them for later rounds. Submissions that are never confirmed by email are deleted after 48 hours, and if a nominated business does not apply, Cobenian deletes its contact's name and email 90 days after the round closes. Cobenian deletes an application on request to info@cobenian.com. Cobenian may use information from applications, combined and anonymized, in published research about small businesses, for example a yearly report. Cobenian never publishes anything that identifies an applicant or its business without permission, and only reports groups of at least 10 businesses. Applicants should not include trade secrets or personal data about their customers in an application.
13. General
- Cobenian may change the dates, suspend or cancel the Program if circumstances outside its reasonable control make that necessary, and will post any change at cobenian.com/free-build.html.
- To the fullest extent permitted by law, Cobenian is not liable for any loss arising from applying to or taking part in the Program. Liability for the build itself is governed by the agreement.
- [Release: By applying, each applicant releases Cobenian from claims arising from the selection process or the Program, except claims that cannot lawfully be released.]
- [Disputes: Any dispute about the Program will be resolved by binding individual arbitration in [Fairfax County, Virginia]; class actions are waived.]
- These rules are governed by the laws of [the Commonwealth of Virginia].
Program documents
These documents govern the Program and are available to review at all times: